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Singapore League Cup

DPMM FC were crowned champions of the Singapore League Cup on Friday evening after recording a 2-0 win over Tanjong Pagar United in the final.

The Bruneian outfit opened the scoring at the Jalan Besar Stadium five minutes after the half-hour mark when Hendra Azam’s pinpoint corner found Boris Raspudic; the Bosnian expertly guiding his header into the top corner.

And two minutes after halftime, they went on to seal the win after Azwan Ali embarked on a brilliant run down the left before his low cross was deflected into the path of Adi Said, who made no mistake in sweeping his shot home from close range.

Tanjong Pagar did have their chances to get back into the contest but were ultimately missing that element of luck, as Sebastien Etiemble saw a lovely freekick come back off the bar in the 81st minute.

The triumph keeps alive DPMM’s hopes of winning the treble in Steve Kean’s first season in charge, as they remain top of the S.League and in the semi-finals of the Singapore Cup.

Tampines Rovers won the Plate Final of the Starhub League Cup on Thursday evening after cruising to a 3-0 win over Balestier Khalsa at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The Stags broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when Ang Zhi Wei latched onto Jacob Butler’s slide-rule pass on the edge of the box and crossed to Miljan Mrdakovic, who clinically slotted his shot past Zaiful Nizam into the bottom corner.

Balestier did have their fair share of chances to equalise – especially in the second half – but were let down by poor finishing; Tajeli Salamat the biggest culprit as he missed two gilt-edged chances in the span of five minutes after he fired wide with only Justin Pasfield to beat on both occasions.

And seven minutes from time, Tampines made them pay for their profligacy after Shahdan Sulaiman did brilliantly to intercept a poor pass from Ridwan Jamil, skip past the last defender and advanced on goal, before unselfishly squaring the ball to leave Mrdakovic with a simple tap-in.

And a minute later, the win was secured as Mrdakovic completed his hat-trick when he fired home on the rebound, after Shahdan’s initial shot had been saved by Zaiful.

DPMM FC are through to the final of the Singapore League Cup after beating Geylang International 3-0 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in Monday’s semi-final tie.

In an evenly-contested clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium, neither side were able to find the breakthrough in the 120 minutes, although Rodrigo Tosi came close with a number of close-range headers right before the end.

The match then went to the dreaded penalty shootout where Roy O’Donovan and Roberto Alviz were both on target for the Bruneian outfit, although Rodrigo Tosi had his effort saved by Joey Sim.

However, Geylang were unable to convert any of their first three attempts, Leonel Felice and Hafiz Nor being denied by Wardun Yussof, while Khairulnizam Jumahat sent a blistering effort back off the bar.

That paved the way for Joe Gamble to emerge as DPMM’s hero and he made no mistake, sending Sim the wrong way and booking his side’s place in Friday’s final.

In Monday’s other last-four clash, Tanjong Pagar United also needed penalties to claim a 4-2 win over Hougang United following a 0-0 draw at the Queenstown Stadium.

Monsef Zerka, Sebastien Etiemble, Kamel Ramdani and Anthony Aymard were all successful in their efforts for Tanjong Pagar, while goalkeeper Aurelien Herisson played his part as he saved attempts from Fazli Jaffar and Fairoz Hasan.

Tampines Rovers booked their place in the Plate Final of the Singapore League Cup in dominant fashion after cruising to a 9-0 win over Police SA on Saturday.

The Stags edged ahead at the Clementi Stadium in the 15th minute when Noh Alam Shah nodded Christopher van Huizen’s left-wing cross into the path of Jozef Kaplan, who made no mistake in finishing from two yards out.

On the stroke of halftime, Van Huizen once again found space down the left and floated in a good cross for Ang Zhi Wei to double his side’s lead with a towering header.

Three minutes after the break, Alam Shah created another goal as his persistence saw him win the ball on the left and curl in a delivery that was glanced home by Miljan Mrdakovic at the near post.

The favour was then returned four minutes after the hour mark as this time it was Mrdakovic who unselfishly nodded a deep cross back to Alam Shah, who was left with a simple tap-in to make it 4-0.

Mrdakovic then grabbed his second of the evening in the 70th minute when he converted from the penalty spot, and completed his hat-trick four minutes later after nipping in ahead of Zulhelmi Hazlan to head home Jamil Ali’s right-wing cross.

Despite the commanding lead, Tampines showed no signs of letting up and Van Huizen got in on the act in the 76th minute; lashing home a loose ball after Jamil and Kaplan had their initial efforts blocked on the line.

Alam Shah doubled his tally three minutes from time when he broke free inside the box and slotted into the bottom corner, before Butler rounded off the scoring with a ninth a minute later; ingeniously lifting the ball over a defender on the edge of the box before emphatically firing past the onrushing Zulhelmi.

Balestier Khalsa are the other team into the Plate Final after they beat Singapore Recreation Club 2-0 at the Toa Payoh Stadium.

Goran Ljubojevic got the Tigers on their way when he opened the scoring in the 17th minute; meeting Park Kang-jin’s corner with a firm header into the back of the net after he had been left unmarked at the near post.

And six minutes later, the Croat added a second to make sure of the win as he latched onto Kim Min-ho’s neat layoff before proceeding to curl a lovely effort past Ronnie Smollet.

Geylang International advanced into the last four of the Singapore League Cup after beating Albirex Niigata (S) 3-1 in Friday’s quarter-final tie at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The Eagles took the lead after 20 minutes when Kento Fukuda was picked out inside the area by Mustaqim Manzur’s excellent corner, and proceeded to send a diving header into the back of the net.

And nine minutes after halftime, they doubled their advantage when Leonel Felice coolly slotted home from the penalty spot, after Hafiz Nor had been hacked down inside the box by Itsuki Yamada.

Albirex did manage to pull one back in the 70th minute after their opponents’ failure to clear their lines saw Kazuya Fukuzaki pick up possession in a dangerous position, and clip a cross for Norihiro Kawakami to head past Joey Sim from two yards out.

But in injury-time, Geylang went on to wrap up the win after Hafiz showed great determination to chase down Joaquin Lopez’s clearance and win it off Soichiro Tanaka, before spotting Kenjiro Ogino off his line and sending a sublime 30-yard lob into goal.

In Friday’s other game, Tanjong Pagar United progressed to the semi-finals following a 1-0 extra-time win over Warriors FC.

After neither side were able to score in the 90 minutes, the breakthrough finally arrived in the 116th minute when Ahmad Latiff fed a neat pass to Firdaus Idros, who skipped outside Marin Vidosevic before drilling the winner past Neezam Aziz.

Hougang United are through to the last four of the Singapore League Cup after coming from behind to beat Home United 2-1 in Thursday’s quarter-final at the Bishan Stadium.

The Protectors were initially on track for victory after taking the lead in the 17th minute; Lee Kwan-woo lining up a freekick on the edge of the box and curled a lovely effort into the bottom corner.

But with eight minutes remaining, Hougang pulled level when Geison Moura fired a penalty past Shahril Jantan’s despairing dive – after Shunsuke Nakatake had been hauled down inside the box by Song In-young.

And just three minutes later, the visitors remarkably went on to claim the win after Lau Meng Meng picked up possession inside the box and floated a lovely cross to the unmarked Nurhilmi Jasni, who made no mistake in dispatching his close-range header into the back of the net.

In Thursday’s other clash, DPMM FC came from behind to defeat Woodlands Wellington 3-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Following a goalless first half, Chang Jo-yoon struck in the 56th minute to hand the Rams a shock lead but DPMM equalised in the 80th minute through a Rodrigo Tosi strike.

Tosi then netted again six minutes later to put the Bruneian outfit in front, before Adi Said struck in injury-time to put the result beyond doubt.

Home United sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the Singapore League Cup on Monday after claiming a 2-0 win over Group C opponents Singapore Recreation Club.

Sirina Camara handed the Protectors the lead at the Bishan Stadium in the 42nd minute when he scored from the penalty spot, after Alfiah Yusoff had been penalised for handball inside the box.

And a minute later, Fazli Ayob added a second to make sure of the three points after he raced onto Indra Sahdan Daud’s incisive through-ball, before cleverly clipping his shot over the onrushing Ronnie Smollet.

The result ensured Home advanced to the last eight as winners of Group C, while Woodlands Wellington join them as runners-up.

Over in Group D, DPMM FC wrapped up top spot after coming from behind to beat Hougang United 3-2 at the Hougang Stadium.

It was the Cheetahs who drew first blood a minute before the half-hour mark courtesy of an Abdul Aziz Tamit own-goal, but Roy O’Donovan equalised for the visitors in the 56th minute.

O’Donovan then fired the Bruneian outfit ahead in the 76th minute and completed his hat-trick from the spot three minutes later, after he had been brought down inside the area by Basil Chan.

Hougang did manage to pull one back six minutes from time when Geison Moura found the back of the net but they were just unable to find the equaliser, as DPMM held out for the win.